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Badlapur Kindergarten Sexual Abuse: Bombay HC Says 'Even 4-Year-Old Girls Not Being Spared'

Two kindergarten girls were allegedly sexually abused by an attendant last week at a school in Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane.

badlapur thane school sexual assault
Angry people block railway tracks at Badlapur railway station in protest against the alleged sexual abuse of two girls at a school, in Thane district, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 Photo: PTI
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On the alleged sexual assault of Kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane, the Bombay High Court was on Thursday told that the investigation has started from every angle, and there will be no mistake anywhere.

Asked by the High Court if the case was registered under Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill (POCSO), advocate General Biren Saraf said yes, adding that a woman officer was present at that time.

After review, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the alleged incident will submit the entire report to the court, the advocate told the Bombay High Court.

The court asked if any case against the school. "There is a provision in POCSO to make the concerned officer of the school a party for not reporting the crime," the High Court said.

The Bombay High Court also raised concerns over school safety, saying that if schools aren’t safe, discussions on the right to education lose significance.

“Even four-year-old girls are not being spared. This situation is extremely shocking,” an Indian Express report quoted Justice Mohite-Dere as saying. The court came down heavily on the Badlapur police, asking why there was a delay in recording of statements.

Internet services in Badlapur were suspended on Wednesday, a day after the massive protest over the alleged sexual abuse of the two kindergarten girls, and 72 persons had been arrested in connection with the violence during the stir, officials had said.

At least 25 police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest as thousands of protesters blocked railway tracks at the station and stormed the school building on Tuesday.

The accused, who worked as an attendant, has been arrested for allegedly sexually molesting two 4-year-old girl students inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur town in Maharashtra’s Thane district. A local court on Wednesday sent him to police custody till August 26.

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The parents of the accused on Thursday claimed that their son was innocent and he had been framed. “Our son had been doing the job for the past 15 days. He used to go to the school by 11 am daily to clean the bathroom. He would then proceed to another place for similar work,” news agency PTI quoted his mother as saying.